Tyranena Rocky’s Revenge

Rocky’s Revenge is an American Bourbon barrel-aged Brown Ale brewed year-round by Tyranena Brewing Company in Lake Mills, Wisconsin. ABV is 6.0%. Legend has it that … “deep in the darkest depths of Rock Lake prowls a great saurian known today as Rocky. The legend of Rocky is old. The ancient inhabitants of Aztalan warned of the beast by building a giant serpent mound at the lakes edge. The early residents of Lake Mills were forewarned of a guardian placed in the lake to protect its sacred stone tepees. And history tells of numerous encounters with Rocky, who became a source of great worry and fear. Although not seen for over a century, divers still experience a feeling of dread and being watched. Enjoy Rockys Revenge, our offering to this legendary protector of Tyranena.”

Noel: For someone who could care less for the taste of hard liquor…bourbon barrel-aged beers have yet to disappoint me. And Rocky’s Revenge was no different. The oaky vanilla flavors and smoothness this brew has taken on through the aging process feel right at home with the darker roasted malt and combine to create a singular brown ale experience. I’m surprised more breweries aren’t bourbon-aging their brown ales! The added flavors aren’t overpowering either, because only part of the beer is aged in the barrels and then added to the original batch. Smart choice if you ask me. The only disappointment? If this beer wasn’t bourbon aged, it would be pretty standard as brown ales go. The aging has turned a good beer into a great one, but not a great beer into a mind-blowing one. Still…grab a sixer and get your bourbon fix for less! Grade: B+

Taylor: This bourbon barrel-aged brown ale was my first taste of Tyranena, and it was terrific. I have moved from IPAs to Brown Ales in my palate development, and I was glad to add this one to the had-it pile. I haven’t really fully identified the taste of the bourbon barrel, but Rocky’s was definitely woody/oaky? and well roasted, two things I really enjoy in a brown ale. It was a nice deep brown with a red twinge, and had a frothy light brown head. It was nicely malted, with solid carbonation, and was smooth feeling on the tongue. I thought that next time I’d like to drink this while eating a rack of ribs. Excellent! Grade: B+

Tom: Leave it to Noel to pick a great Brown Ale. The color is an orange/amber/copper hue with a very inviting aroma. There is more of a medium toasted malt thing going on here than a deep roasted malt complexity. At its core, the beer expresses bold caramel aromas and flavors. The portion aged in Bourbon barrels adds a little bite to it, but complements the base malts brilliantly. Additional aromas and flavor of charred oak, vanilla, and a slight alcoholic presence came out. The texture of the beer is rather heavy, sticky, and somewhat syrupy. In my opinion, this is due to the oak aging and residual sugars left in the beer. Grade: B+

Michael: I just wanted something cold and thirst quenching. I cracked it open, poured it and sucked it back. Not trifling with the color or head or bitty bubbles of carbonation, I just drank. It’s a decent brew, considering I’m not a huge brown ale guy, and it definitely has a few quirks that make it interesting. Most prominent to me, was the pepper in the finish, a spicy flare that popped out at me right away. There was also an interesting bit of vanilla, but only on the nose and the rest of the flavors were fairly typical for a brown. There was definitely some nuttiness and malt, but that pepper kept coming back. Interesting and decent. Grade: B-